Inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machine



Dec. 10, 1940. A. A. WITTNEBEL INKING MECHANISM FOR ROTARY STEEL PLATEPRINTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 8, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENI 'OR L;ATTORNEY Dec. 10, 1940. A. A. WITTNEBEL 2,224,

INKING MECHANISM FOR ROTARY STEEL PLATE PRINTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 8,1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 MW [A] g .1 INVENTOB Patented Dec. 10, 1940UNITED STATES PATENT. 'orrlcs INKIN G MECHANISM FOR ROTARY STEEL PLATEPRINTING MACHINE Application August 8, 1939, Serial No. 288,905

17 Claims. (Cl. 101-351) The invention relates to inking mechanisms forrotary steel plate printing machines, and more particularly to an inkingmechanism adapted for use in a rotary steel plate printing machine I inwhich the plate cylinder is rotated at high speeds.

For many years the practice has been to operate the plate cylinders ofrotary steel plate printing machines at a speed which will result in atravel of the plate at the rate of approximately '70 feet per minute.There has recently been developed a printing machine of this type inwhich the plate cylinder has a peripheral speed of between 1'75, and insome instances as high as is 275 feet per minute.

In rotary steel plate printing machines, it is necessary to apply ink tothe plate to fill all of the intaglio, engraved or undersurface linesand provide excess ink upon the top or non-printing 20 surface of theplate. While most of the surface ink is removed by the wiper andpolisher webs, some of it is used in packing the lines of the plate. Thelines of a plate differ in depth and width in diiferent portions of thedesign, and in some instances portions of the plate require a greaterquantity of ink than other portions thereof.

Great difflculty has been experienced in properly inking a platetraveling at high speed. There 80 is a tendency, with variation in theperipheral speed of the plate and of the inking roller, to

either fail to fill lines throughout transverse streaks upon the platecaused by a lower speed of the inking roller relative to that of theplate, or to drag ink from different portions of the-plate due to aspeed of the inking roller relatively higher than that of the plate.

With higher speeds of the plate cylinder, a greater quantity of ink mustbe applied to the 40- plate by the inking roller within a given timeinterval, and this has been found to require a finer adjustment of theblade of the ink fount than is required with lower speeds of the plate.Even with such finer adjustment there is a tendency 5 for the ink tocreep past this blade and drop upon portions of the machine positionedbelow the ink fount.

When using an ink fount blade of the type used with low speed rotarysteel plate printing machines, it was found that closer adjustment ofthe plate had a tendency to buckle it in a manner to result in adifferent contacting relation between the blade and the ink fount rollat different points of the length of these parts. This not only resultedin an uncontrolled, unequal distribution below this bottom blade, asupplemental blade.

' of ink throughout the surface of the ink fount roller, but aconsiderable wastage of ink because of drip of that ink which passedbetween the blade of the fount and the roller and fell from the bladeinstead of being applied to the roller, 5 and by said roller to thedistributing and inking rollers.

In a high speed rotary machine, considerable pressure between the inkingroller and the steel plate is required to avoid a lineal contact between10 this roller and the plate, and such pressure is one factor in thedevelopment of those imperfections in the resilient surface of theroller which require the re-flnishing of the roller from time to time,and a consequent periodic reduction in the diiii meter of this roller.

With the above conditions in mind, I have provided an inking mechanismwherein the inking rbller is positively driven, and develops aperipheral speed substantially coincident with the to peripheral speedof a plate upon the plate cylinder. The angular speed of the inkingroller may be changed from time to time to ensure a desired peripheralspeed irrespective of the use of inking rollers having differentdiameters.

To permit the proper adjustment of the machine to attain the aboveeffect, and at the same time ensure the proper pressure engagingrelation between the resilient inking rollerand the plate, it isnecessary to provide means whereby so the inking roller may be adjustedtoward and from the plate cylinder: whereby the main distributing rollermay be adjusted in relation to 7 said inking roller and to theductor-distributing roller, and the doctor-distributing roller may be asadjusted in relation to the distributing roller and the ink fountroller.

The bottom blade of the ink fount is adjustable toward and from the inkfount roller by a mechanism which will not only permit the con- 0venient removal of this blade from the fount, but will prevent any suchbuckling of the blade during adjustment as will result in the formationof crevices at any or different points along the roller through whichink in excess of that required in a the inking operation may escape fromthe ink fount and drip upon parts of the machine below the ink fount.

To secure a proper application of ink to this ink fount roller andeffect the saving of what so would otherwise be waste ink, I provideupon and forming a pocket in whichfany drip from the main blade will beaccumulated and applied to th i ink fount roller, thus supplying ink tothat roller 5;

from two diflerent sources and permitting a closer adiustment of bothblades in relation to the roller.

The ink fount blade and its adjusting mechanism are so constructed as tonot only'prevent buckling-of this blade in the manner above referred-to,but to permit an accurately controlled minute adjustment of the blade.

In an inking mechanism embodying the invention, I have found that theink may be properly worked upon the distributing rollers without the useof vibrator rollers commonly used in inking m. Furthermore, theconstruction and arrangement of these rollers is such that the area orwidth of the plate to which ink is applied, may

be varied during the makeready of the press, and thus save a substantialpercentage of ink not required to fill lines of the plate. Furthermore,the ductor-distributor roller may be so con- 10 structed as to-conveyink in diflerentvolume to different portions of other distributingrollers and therethrough to the inking roller, thus supplying a greaterquantity of ink to some portions of the 4 and combination of partshereinafter set forth and described, and more particularly pointed outin the claims hereto appended.

Referringtothe drawings, v p 0 Fig. 1 is a side view of an inkingmechanism em odying the invention and the contiguous portions of arotary printing machine;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a portion of the opposite side of themachine showing the manner the drawings, l0 indicates a portion of aplate cylinder; II a portion of the plate carried thereby; I! a portionof the plate cylinder gear, and I! a portion of the wiper mechanism.

so The ink fount is shown at I4 and the ink fount roller, which is madeof metaLat IS.

The-inking roller proper is shown. at It, this roller of a metal corehaving a resilient jacket I! preferably consisting of soft vules caninedrubber. In constant contact with the surface ll of the inking roller isa distributing roller I. which may be, and preferably is, made.

of metal.

Mounted in suitable vertical bearings interme- 70 diate the ink fountroller I5 and the distributing roller I8 is a ductor-distributor rollerI! which is capable of movement in its bearings, so asto constantlyengage both rollers l5 and II." This roller I! is preferably composed ofa plurality of TI short cylindrical sections such as 2l.2l as showninl'ig.5,eachofatubularmetalcore I! having a resilient surface a,preferably of softvulcanisedrubber .As shown particularly in Fig. 5. thejacket at oneend of the tubular core overhangs them 5soastohaveaslidingiitwiththeexposedpor:tionofthe'endofthecoreofanadjacentsem, tion. Each section of the core issecured in relation t a shaft ll by means of a set screw'"passingthroughthejacket andthetubularcore l0 and heshaft.Theheadofthisset screw is forced below the surface of the jacket to anextent to avoid engagement of the same witheitherroller llor l8.

By employing a ductor-distributor roller of the 15 construction abovereferred to, the length of this roller during the of a press maybevaried according to the width of a plate I I, thus limiting theapplication of ink removed from the ink foimt roller and applied to thedistributing roller, and through the inking roller to the plate. to awidth required by the width of the plate. A material saving of inkresults from sucha practice,sinceallinkwhiehisnotpassedtothedistributingroller by said ductor-distributor roller 2 is returned to the ink fount,or is carried over by the ink fount roller with succeeding revolutionsthereof.

In steel plate work, different portions of a platemayhaveadesi'gnthereomthelinesofwhichare wider and deeper than the linesof other parts -of the plate. Such portions of-the design require moreink than portions with narrower and shallower'lines.

Prior to the present invention, it has been nec.- 36- to apply to theentire surface of a plate, ink in suiiicient quantity to properly fillthose lines in. isolated'portions of the plate which are deeper andwider than in other portions of the plate, the result being excessiveink upon the top All or nonprinting surface of a major portion of theplate.

By making one or more sections, such as 2|, of the ductor-distributorroller of slightly smaller diameter than the abutting sections of thisroll- 0 er, and locating this section on the shaft It approximatelycorresponding with the portion of the plate having the design composedof wider and deeper lines, it is possible to apply a stripe of ink 01'greater thickness along the length oi l0 plate including that portion ofthe design, and a thinner application of ink to other portions of theplate. Where the entire design upon the plate is repeated in a number ofparallel rows, an undersiae ductor-distributor roller section may be uused in relation to each row of designs. In this manner. over-inking oflarge areas of a plate may beavoided.

The difference in the diameter between sections II and other sections 22of a ductor-distributor roller may amount to only about .001 of an inch,but even with this small difference, the saving of ink in the day's runof a machine will be substantial.

Adjacent each vertically slotted bearing 28 for 0 the roller II is avertically adjusted bracket 11 having a V top as shown, which formssupports. for the arbors of the roller. The vertical adjustment of saidbrackets permits the roller tobe raised and held out of engagingrelation with the ink fount roller l6 and the distributing, roller N.This bracket does not act as a bearing for the arbors of the roller it,since this'roller is supported by engagement with the rollers II and 18.The bracket 21 is merely for the purpose of facil- 7s itating thecleaning of the inking mechanism upon the completion of a run.

When operating a steel plate printing machine at higher speeds, I havefound it necessary to have the inking roller of resilient, non-inkabsorbent material, and to cause this roller to exert considerablepressure upon the plate in order to fill the lines with ink. Thecontacting area between this inking roller and the plate, instead ofbeing a light lineal contact, is a surface contact throughout aconsiderable area, possibly onehalf to three-quarters of an inch inwidth, and throughout the entire width of the plate, the resilientsurface I! of the inking roller yielding in order to secure this surfacecontact area.

I have also found it necessary that the peripheral speed of the inkingroller shall be substantially the same as that of a plate upon the platecylinder, since, as heretofore stated, any material variance in thesespeeds will result in an improper inking of the plates, which cannot be'corrected by the wiping webs, and thus result in a high percentage ofimperfect impressions.

When using a rubber jacketed inking roller and operating the press athigh speeds with pressure of the roller against the plate, the surfaceof the jacket is in time forced out of true cylindrical form. It mayalso become slightly pitted from action of the ink thereon or rapidcompression and expansion of the resilient surface. This also willresult in unsatisfactory inking, and to correct this condition, saidinking roller is from time to time removed from the machine and groundto a true circular form.

Such grinding of the roller to restore it to a true cylindrical formresults in a condition in the cylinder similar to that present in thecopper cylinder of rotogravure printing machines and introduces aserious problem in the operation of the machine as a whole.

With an inking roller of smaller diameter, the desired contact relationbetween it and the plate II is lost, and even after adjustment of theroller so as to restore the desired contact relation, the relativeperipheral speeds of the plate and of this roller would be lost, werenot means provided for increasing the angular speed of the roller tocompensate for its lessened diameter. This is particularly true as inthe operation of the machine the inking roller must be positivelydriven.

The construction by which the roller I6 is given a peripheral speedcorresponding with that of the plate I I will now be described.

It is not only necessary that the inking roller be positively driven,but that the distributing roller I 8 and the ink fount roller 15 also bepositively driven. The ductor-distributor roller I9 is driven byfrictional contact with the ink fount roller l5 and the distributingroller l3, and the positive driving of this roller is not necessary. Thedistributing roller l8 and the ink fount roller I5 are positively drivenby a gear train 28, the

first gear 23 of which is enmeshed with the gear l2 upon the platecylinder. The number and arrangement of the gears of this train is suchas to impart movement to the rollers 15 and I8 in the 'roller I 6 so asto permit its removal therefrom and the substitution therefor of anothergear It is also necessary to provide in a mechanism embodying theinvention, means whereby the inking roller may be accurately adjustedtoward and from the plate cylinder, not only to compensate for differentdiameters of this roller, but to control the pressure relation betweenthe inking roller and the plate, which may vary according to the designsupon different plates.

With any adjustment of the inking roller Hi. there must be correspondingadjustment of the distributing roller l3, although theductor-distributor roller l3 will automatically adjust itself, bygravity, in relation to the ink fount roller I5 and the distributingroller l8. This adjustment of the inking and distributing rollers is animportant feature in the mechanism of the invention, since it is aprimary contributing factor in the proper inking of a plate.

To permit adjustment of the inking roller l6, its arbors are mounted inblocks 33 and 34 mounted in slideways upon opposite sides of the frameof the machine. Acting upon the block 33 are adjusting screws 35 and 36,having associated therewith respectively a lock nut 3|-38. Similaradjusting screws and lock nuts act upon the bearing block 34. The blocks34 are sectional, as shown, and the frame of the machine is providedwith gauge markings 39 by means of which and the parting line, accurateadjustment of the blocks at opposite ends of the roller may be made. Theadjusting screws 35 and 36 permit accurate setting of the bearingblocks, and the lock screws 31 and 33 prevent any loss of adjustment dueto vibrations about the machine.

Since any adjustment of the inking roller requires a correspondingadjustment of the distributing roller I3, the arbors of this roller arealso mounted in blocks 40 and 4|. Acting upon the block 40 is anadjusting screw 42 and two lock nuts 43 and 44, the former of which ismounted upon the screw 42, and the latter of which is mounted upon theadjusting screw 35. A similar adjusting screw and lock nuts act upon thebearing block 4|.

It will be noted that two adjusting screws act upon the bearing blocks34, and but one adjusting screw upon each of the blocks 40 and 4|. Theadjusting screw 36 is used to supplement the action of the adjustingscrew 35 in securing nicety in the adjustment of the pressure relationbetween the inking roller and a plate II. A similar nice adjustment isnot required to control the pressure relation between the distributingroller l3 and the inking roller l8, although the lock nuts 44 permit asumciently nice adjustment of said distributing roller. The adjustingscrews 35, 36 and 42 are mounted in webs upon the side frames of themachine.

The bearing blocks 40 and 4|, like the bearing blocks .33 and 34, aresplit blocks, and the frame accuracy in the adjustment of thedistributing roller I8. These'gauge markings permit an accurate rightline adjustment of the roller as a whole.

The ink fount roller I5 is mounted in fixed bearings andis positivelydriven by a gear wheel 45 upon one arbor of this roller enmeshed withthe last gear 48 of the gear train 28.

The quantity of 'ink' conveyed by this roller II from the ink fount anddelivered to the ductordistributor roller I9 is controlled by an inkiount blade 41 which is adjustable along the bottom of the ink Iounttoward or from the roller II.

To avoid buckling of this blade as a result oi the action of adjustingscrews thereon, I provide the upper edge of the blade with an enlargedhead 48 through which adjusting screws 49 pass andenter a cross bar 58positioned upon the ink iount above-the blade, so that the adjustingpressure exerted by the screws 49 has a tendency to force thebladedownwardly against the bottom of the ink iount, instead of bulgingit upwardly.

The cross bar 59, upon opposite sides of each adjusting screw 49 has astud 9i surrounded by a spring 82, which springs bear between the head48 and the bar 58 so that adjustment of the blade is against the tensionof these springs. Each screw is provided with a collar 88 bearing uponthe head 48 and having gauge markings thereon permitting accuracy in theadjustment of the opposite ends of the blade. The top of the head 48 isprovided with a gauge marking co-operating with each collar 88.

The blade 41 is. provided with an undercut lower edge 84, and secured toand flush with the roller.

bottom of this blade, and projecting beyond same in the manner shown inthe drawings, is a supplemental blade 85. By this construction, all inkwhich passes between the edge 84 of the I blade and is notcarried overby the ink iount roller, falls upon the supplemental blade 88 and anyaccumulation of ink in this pocket isin part applied to the ink tountroller.

The length of the supplemental blade 88 is such as to compensate ior thecurvatureo! the roller and to secure a diii'erential spacing, withadjustment of the ink i'ount blade, of the edge 84 of the blade and "theedge of the supplemental blade 89, the latter being spaced irom the inktount roller at all times a distance slightly greater than the spacingof the main blade from said The diilerence may'amount only to a fewthousandths or an inch, but by the use of a plurality oi bladessuccessively acting upon the ink fount roller, there is a more uniformapplicathe cylinder I8 can be used and yet secure a product in themachine greater than was possible with older machines in which theplate'cylinder carried two plates.

With a higher speed of the plate, a greater volume of ink per minutemust be conveyed from the ink'fount to the plate by the rollers ll, I9,I8 and I8, and this volume must be nicely controlled.

.ripheralspeedasthepl'ate.'andbyusingailexBydrivingtheinkingrollerllatthesamcpeible jacket II upon this roller, itispossi to compress the jacket throughout an area or engagement with theplate which will ensure the I inkbeingiorcedintothelinesotaplataandavoidany tendency toward a spotty inking or the draggin of ink from thelines, notwithstanding the limited time for inking the plate.

By positively driving the inking roller I9 from 19 the distributingmller I8, these rollers, irrespective of the diameter oi! the roller.II, will have the same peripheral speed and thus ensure uniformityin'the'thickness of the film 01 ink trans- (erred from the distributingroller l8 to the resilient jacket I! of the roller II. Theductordistributor roller I 9 is in continuous contact with thedistributing roller l8 and with the ink iount roller I8, oscillation oithe ductor roller, common to many forms 01 inking mechanims, being-ab-20 sent from the inking mechanism of the invention. This permits a moreaccurate control of the ink carried by the ink fount roller I! from therount and applied to the roller I9.

The pressure relation between the inking roller 28 and the plate varieswith the designs upon dinerent plates, and by adjusting the bearingblocks 88 and 84 toward or from the plate cylinder by means or theadjusting screws 88 and 89, a desired pressure relation may beestablished, and a this pressure relation may be varied at will dur ingthe operation 01' a machine.

Under ordinary conditions, with adjustment of the inking roller, similaradjustment oi the distributing roller is also necessary, but the duc- 8|tor-distributor roller I9, by reason of its free vertical movement, willautomatically adjust itself to any setting of the distributing rollerl8.

After a long run of the machine, the jacket I1 01' the inking rollermay. become slightly out oi A.

true, or may become pitted so that it is necessary,

. from time to time, to grind this roller to restore it to a truecylindrical form and remove any pits. Whenever a roller is thus ground,its diameter may be changed by a fraction of an inch, but I even thischange will interfere with the desired proper rapid inking of the plateii.- means are not provided to increase the angular speed of the rollerin order to maintain the peripheral speed thereof coincident with thatof the plate I I.

When it is necessary to grind an inking roller, this work is donewithoutregard to the depth oi' the pits or the extent of deformation oitheroller, the amountof the jacket removed being .a fixed definite amountso that a gear 82 upon 88 to maintain a proper peripheral speed 01' theinking roller notwithstanding changes in its diameter.

Alter each grinding operation and change of gears 82 upon the roller l8,the blocks 88, 84, 48 and 4| are adjusted by means 01' the feed screwsoperating upon each, in order to secure a proper pressure engagingrelation between the rollers I8 and I8 and the proper pressure engagingrelation between the former and the plate upon the plate cylinder.

The use 01' lock nuts 88, 48 and 44 is merely for the purpose oravoiding accidental loss 01 the 1. setting oi! the rollers I8 and I8.

' The use of gauge markings is merely to permit accuracy in the settingof opposite ends 0! each of the rollers.

The advantages of using an ink fount blade ad- 78 justable by means ofpressure applied above the blade have heretofore been referred to.

It is essential to accurately control the amount of ink carried by theink fount roller 15 from the fount and applied to the ductor-distributorroller is. "This, with the continuously rotating rollers, not onlypermits a higher speed of the various rollers, but also permits thecloser setting of the inkfount blade 41 than would otherwise bepossible. The undercut lower edge 54 of the blade is set fairly close tothe roller l5, and the supplemental blade 55 is of a length to bepositioned slightly more remote from the roller than the edge 54. Theedge 54 cannot be set so close to even a metallic roller, as to avoidink in excess of that required from passing the plate anddrippindownwardly from the edge 54. The supplemental blade 55, however, willcatch any drip and, by reason of its inclination, this ink will flowtoward and be applied to the roller II, thus slightly increasing thethickness of the film of ink applied to this roller.

Any ink upon the roller I! which is not transferre" to the roller IQ ofcourse will be carried back to the fount. By using the supplementalblade 55, a rapid, more u'niiorm application of ink to the roller 15 isassured, and wastage of ink is avoided.

Proper working of the ink upon the distributing roller is possiblewithout the use of any vibrator rollers.

The brackets 21 are used merely to raise and hold the roller 18 out ofcontacting relation with the rollers l5 and it when cleaning therollers. If desired, during cleaning up of the machine, the rollers I8and I8 may be moved respectively out of engagement with a plate and witheach other.

By removing the bar 50 from the ink fount, the entire ink fount blademechanism may be removed from the fount.

The gears for operating the various rollers, and particularly the gear32, should be hardened to minimize wear, since any substantial back lashwill impair the inking operation.

By using a ductor-distributor roller composed of sections, the over-alllength of the roller may be varied during the makeready of .a press tocorrespond with the width of the plate II to be used. In many platesthere are isolated portions of the plate which contain a mass of wideand deep lines, such as in a vignette used in a bank note.

Prior to the present invention,.enough ink had to be applied to theentire surface of the plate to meet the requirements of such isolatedportions of the design, since the lateral movement of the wiper bars wasnot sumciently great to utilize ink, other than that closely adjacentthe vignette, in completing the filling and packing of the ink in thelines.

The efiective length of the roller l9 may be determined by the number ofsections 2ll-2I,

or the length of such sections.

By using a ductor-distributor roller made up of short sections asdescribed, and avoiding the use of vibrators, one or more sections ofthis roller may be made of slightly smaller diameter, possibly .001 or.002 oi an inch, than the adjacent rollers and thus cause a greaterquantity of ink to be applied to the plate in a stripe, in-

cluding the vignette or other heavily lined portions of the design. "Inthis manner, ink may be distributed throughout the plate in varyingframes of the machine by means of overhanging side flanges, dovetails orin any other desired manner not shown in detail in the drawings.

In actual practice, the diameter of the inking roller is reducedapproximately one-eighth of an inch with each grinding operation, andthe various interchangeable'gears 32 have pitch diameters whichcorrespond in variation with the changes in diameter of the roller.

The gears are secured to the cylinder ends by means of bolts as shown,and, if desired, by means of metal dowel pins passing through the gearand entering the body of the cylinder.

It 'is not my intention to'limit the invention to the detailedconstruction and arrangement-oi parts shown in the accompanyingdrawings, it being obvious that such may be varied without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention.

It is essential, however, that the inking roller shall be positivelydriven at an angular speed which will ensure a peripheral'speed,irrespective of the diameter of the roller, substantially equalling thatof the plate upon the plate cylinder, and that said inking roller shallbe capable of adjustment toward and from the cylinder to establish andmaintain a proper pressure engaging relation between the cylinder andthe plate to ensure the filling of the lines of the plate withoutpossibility of an improper application of ink thereto or the dragging ofink from the lines of the design. I

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to haveprotected by Letters Patent, is:

1. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodying therein an ink fount, an inkingroller having a resilient surface, means whereby said roller is broughtinto engaging relation with a plate upon the cylinder with sufllcientpressure to deform said resilient surface, means positively driving saidinking roller indirectly from the plate cylinder with a peripheral speedsubstantially coincident with that of a cylinder, means acting upon eachof said bear ings whereby the pressure engaging relation of said rollerwith a plate may be varied to regulate the amount of deformation of saidresilient surface, means positively driving said inking rollerindirectly from the-plate cylinder with a peripheral speed substantiallycoincident with that of a plate upon said plate cylinder to which ink isto be applied, and means applying ink from said ink fount to said inkingroller.

3. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodying therein an ink fount, an inkfount roller, an inking roller having a resilient surface, means wherebysaid roller is brought into engaging relation with a plate upon thecylinder with suilicient pressure to deform said ing roller, meanspositively driving said distributing roller at a peripheral speedcoincident with that of a plate upon said plate-cylinder, a

gear carried by said distributing roller, and agearmeshingtherewithcarriedby-saidinkingroller,saidlastnamedgearbeingsoproportioned in relation to'the gear uponthe distributing rollerastnimpartperipheraltraveltosaidinkingrollersubstantially coincident withthatof said distributing roller and aplate upon'said plate cylinder, irrespective of the diametafof saidinking roller.

.Aninkingmechanism forrotarysteelplate printing machines of them havinga plate cylinder embodying therein an ink fount, aninkfountroller,aninkingrollerhavinga resillent surface, bearingstherefor adiustably mounted in relation to a plate cylinder, meansacting upon each of said bearings whereby the pressureensaslns relationof said roller with a plate may be varied to regulate the amount ofdeformation-of said resilient surface, a distributing rolleroo-operating with said inking roller, bearingstherefor, means actingupon each of said bearings whereby said distributing rollermaybeadiustedlnrelationtosaidinkingroller, means transferring ink fromsaid ink fount roller to said distributing roller, means positivelydriving said distributing roller at a peripheral speedcoincidentwiththatofaplateuponsaidplate cylinder, a gear carried by saiddistributing roller, and a gear meshing therewith carried by saidinkingroller,saidlastnamedgearbeingsoproportioned in relation to thesear upon the distributing roller as to impart p ripheral travel to saidinking roller substantially coincident with that of said distributingroller and a plate upon saidplate cylinder, irrespective of thediameterof said inking roller.

5. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodying therein an ink fount, an ink.fount roller, an inking roller having a resilient surface, meanswhereby said roller is brought into engaging relation with a plate uponthe cylinder with suflicient pressure to deform said resilent surface, adistributing roller'co-operating with said inking roller, meanstransferring ink from said ink fount roller to said distributing roller,means positively driving said distributing roller at a peripheral speedcoincident with that of a plate upon said plate cylinder, a gear carriedby said distributing roller, a gear meshing therewith carried by saidinking roller, and means detachably connecting said gear with saidroller, whereby with the reduction of the diameter of said inking rollerwhen refinishing same, gears having a different number of teeth may bemounted upon said roller to impart peripheral travel theretosubstantially coincident with that of said distributing roller and aplate upon said plate cylinder.

6. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodying therein an ink fount, anink fountroller, an inking roller having a resilient surface, means whereby saidroller is brought into relation with a plate upon the cylinder withsufiicient pressure to deform said resilient surface, a distributingroller co-operating with said, inking roller, a ductor-distributorroller idly mounted in vertical bearings intermediate said ink fountroller and said summing roller, means positively driving saiddistributing roller at a peripheral speed coincident with that of aplate upon said plate cylinder, a gear cylinder, irrespective of thediameter of said inking roller.

'LAninkingmecbanismforrotai-y steelplateprintingmachinesofthetypehavingaplatecylinderembodyingthereinaninkfount,anink foimt roller, an inking rollerhaving a resilient surface, means whereby said roller is brought intoengaging relation with a plate upon the cylinder with suillcientpressure to deform said resilient surface, a distributing rollerco-operat-. ing with said inking roller, a duster-distributor rollerhaving a resilient jacket, idly mounted in vertical bearingsintermediate said ink fount roller and said distributing roller, meanspositively driving said distributing roller at a peripheral speedcoincident with that of a plate upon said plate cylinder, a gear carriedby said distributing roller, and a gear meshing therewith carried bysaid inking roller, said last named gear being so proportioned inrelation to the gear upon the distributing roller as to impartperipheral travel to said inking roller substantially coincident withthat of said distributing roller and a plate upon said plate cylinder,irrespective of the diameter of said inking roller.

8. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodyingtherein an ink fount, an ink fountroller, an inking roller having a resilient surface, means whereby saidroller is brought into enga ing relation with a plate upon the cylinderwith suillcient pressure to deform said resilient surface, adistributing roller co-operating with said inking roller, aductor-distributor roller cooperating with said distributing roller andsaid ink fount roller composed of a shaft, a plurality of closelyabutting short sections each having a resilient surface, each sectionbeing removably secured to said shaft whereby the effective length ofsaid roller may be varied, and means positively driving said inkingroller indirectly from the plate cylinder with a peripheral speedsubstantially coincident with that of a plate upon said platecylinder-to which ink is to be applied.

9. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machinesembodying therein an ink fount, an ink fount roller, an inking rollerhaving a resilient surface, means whereby said roller is brought intoengaging relation with a plate upon the cylinder with sumcient pressureto deform said resilient surface, a distributing roller co-operatingwith said inking roller, a ductordistributor roller co-operating withsaid distributing roller and said ink fount roller composed of a shaft,a plurality of closely abutting short sections each having a resilientsurface, the different sections varying slightly in diameter, wherebythe quantity of ink applied to different portions of a plate may bevaried, and means positively driving said inking roller with aperipheral speed substantially coincident with that of a plate to whichink is to be applied. I

10. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printingmachinesembodyingtherein an ink fount,

-inder with sufficient pressure to deform said resilient surface, adistributing roller co-operating with said inking roller, aductor-distributor roller co-operating with said distributing roller andsaid ink fount roller composed of a'shaft, a plurality of closelyabutting short sections each having a resilient surface, the differentsections varying slightly in diameter, whereby the quantity of inkapplied to different portions of a plate may be varied, each sectionbeing removably secured to said shaft whereby the effective length ofsaid roller may be varied, and means positively driving said inkingroller with a peripheral speed substantially coincident with i that of aplate to which ink is to be applied.

11. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodying therein an ink fount, an inkfount roller, a cross bar upon said fount, an ink fount blade positionedbelow said cross bar and having a head along'the upper edge thereof,adjusting screws engaging said head co-operating with screw threads insaid cross bar, whereby said blade may be adjusted toward and from saidink fount roller, an inking roller having a resilient surface, meanswhereby said roller is brought into engaging relation with a'plate uponthe cylinder with sufllcient pressure to deform said resilient surface,means positively driving said inking roller indirectly from the platecylinder with a peripheral speed substantially coincident with that of aplate to which ink is to be applied, and means applying ink from saidink fount roller to said inking roller.

12. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodying therein an ink fount, an inkfount roller, a cross bar upon said fount, an ink fount blade positionedbelow said cross bar and having a head along the upper edge thereof, ad-

justing screws engaging said head co-operating with screw threads insaid cross bar, whereby said blade may be adjusted toward and from saidink fount roller, springs positioned between said cross bar and the headof said blade adjacent each said adjusting screw, an inking rollerhaving a resilient surface, means whereby said roller is brought intoengaging relation with a plate upon the cylinder with suiiicientpressure to deform said resilient surface, means positively driving saidinking roller indirectly from the plate cylinder with a peripheral speedsubstantially coincident with that of a plate to which ink is to beapplied, and means applying ink from said ink fount roller to saidinking roller.

13. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodying therein an ink fount, an inkfount roller, a main ink fount blade, a supplemental blade carriedthereby and spaced below and projecting beyond same toward the ink fountroller, to form a pocket for accumulating ink passing the main blade andapplying it to the ink fount roller, means whereby both said blades maybe simultaneously adjusted toward and from the ink fount roller, aninking roller, and means applying ink from said ink fount roller to saidinking roller.

14, An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodying therein an ink fount, an inkfount roller, a main ink fount blade having an undercut edge adjacentthe ink fount roller, a supplemental blade-carried thereby and spacedbelow and projecting beyond same toward the ink fount roller, to form apocket for accumulating ink passing the main blade and applying it tothe ink fount roller, means whereby both said blades may besimultaneously adjusted toward and from the ink fount roller, an inkingroller, and means applying ink from said ink fount roller to said inkingroller.

15. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodying therein an ink fount, an inkfount roller, a main ink fount blade, a supplemental blade carriedthereby and spaced below and projecting beyond same toward the ink fountroller, to form a pocket for accumulating ink \passing the main bladeand applying it to the ink fount roller, said supplemental blade beingof a length to always be spaced from the ink fount roller a slightlygreater distance than the main blade, means whereby both said blades maybe simultaneously adjusted toward and from the ink fount roller, aninking roller, and means applying ink from said ink fount roller to saidinking roller.

16. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodying therein an ink fount, an inkfount roller, an inking roller having a resilient surface, means wherebysaid roller is brought into engaging relation with a plate upon thecylinder with suflicient pressure to deform said resilient surface, adistributing roller co-operating with said inking roller, aductor-distributor roller having a resilient jacket, idly mounted invertical bearings intermediate said ink fount roller and saiddistributing roller, means whereby said ductor-distributor roller may beheld out of engaging relation with said ink fount roller and saiddistributing roller, means positively'driving said distributing rollerat a peripheral speed coincident with that of a plate upon said platecylinder, a gear carried by said distributing roller, and a gear meshingtherewith carried by said inking roller, said last named gear being soproportioned in relation to the gear upon the distributing roller as toimpart peripheral travel to said inking roller substantially coincidentwith that of said distributing roller and a plate upon said platecylinder, irrespective of the diameter of said inking roller.

17. An inking mechanism for rotary steel plate printing machines of thetype having a plate cylinder embodying therein an inking roller having aresilient surface, bearings therefor adjustably mounted in relation to aplate cylinder,

means acting upon each of said bearings whereby the pressure engagingrelation of said roller with a plate may be varied to regulate theamount of deformation of said resilient surface, a distributing rollerco-operating with said inking roller, bearings therefor, means actingupon each of said bearings whereby said distributing roller may beadjusted in relation to said inking roller, means supplying ink to saidinking roller comprising an ink fount, an ink fount roller, a main inkfount blade, a supplemental blade carried thereby and spaced belowandprojecting beyond same toward the ink fount roller, to form a pocket foraccumulating ink passing the main blade and applying it to the ink fountroller, means whereby both said blades may be simultaneously adjustedtoward and from the ink fount roller, a ductordistributor roller havinga resilient jacket, idly mounted in vertical bearings intermediate saidink fount roller and said distributing roller, and

means positively driving said inking roller, said distributing rollerand said ink rount roiler at the same peripheral speed as a plate to beinked, comprising a gear train including a gear upon the plate cylinder,gears enmeshed respectively with said distributing roller and with saidink tount roller, a gear upon said distributing roller, and a gearmeshing therewith detachably connected

